Keeping the Sacred Flame

A place to discuss the religion and philosophy of the Sacred Flame, HeartShadow's personal religion. Also random other thoughts of HeartShadow's as she feels like posting them.

Monday, December 26, 2005

Gods and the Divine

We are all of the Divine. However, the Divine is a hard thing (and a thankless thing) to worship directly. It is, instead, more of a reality to comprehend than a being to worship.

The Divine, however, has created beings to live between us and it for us to love and worship, and to guide us in the direction the Divine would like to go. These are the gods. And these gods are symbiotic with humanity. They watch over us, guide us, love us. Sometimes they simply deal with us impersonally, and we do not know the identity of the one we deal with. Sometimes they identify themselves and work more closely with a person. Neither of these relationships is more valuable, but they are different in effect.

The gods lead us to better ourselves, to change ourselves, to become more the hands and eyes of the Divine. This also leads us to become more ourselves, better people, better citizens of the world and stewards of the planet. We are led into harmony with other beings. This does not, of course, make us living saints. We are still people, still subject to all of the vagaries of human existance. They can guide and suggest, but they do not dictate and cannot force us into something we would not do. Also, in some cases they simply let us make our own mistakes and find our own answers.

We must prepare ourselves if we wish to have a god to communicate with us. While a god may choose to watch over us or interact with us, unless we open ourselves to the contact, we may never realize that god is there. And even if we prepare ourselves, the gods are under no obligation to communicate directly with us. They are not human and do not think as we do. But there is a deep caring and need for humanity, whether or not we actually acknowedge their existance at any given time.

We are of the Divine and a part of the greater whole. The gods, however, are beings that are symbiotic with us, but separate. We do not know how they act or why they lead us as they do, but they do care for humanity. (this does not mean, of course, that we lose our own moral agency when we act as a god wishes. Regardless of who requests our action, we are responsible for what we do). But the gods, even though what they ask can sometimes be strange, usually have the best interests of humanity at heart.

Questions:
Do you deal directly with any gods? Do you think any deal with you indirectly?
Do you have any use for gods? Are they something you find outdated? Meaningless?
How do the concepts of gods and the Divine interrelate to you? Can you believe in both gods and a Divine Universe? Does that seem counterintuitive?
Personal thoughts

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Ideals and Reality

We all hold things in our mind as ideals. Things we want, ways we view the world. It's how we think we see things. And then there's reality, which frequently has nothing to do with these ideals. The problem is not that ideals and reality don't match, though. The problem is finding a way to have a good balance between them.

Ideals are how we think the world should work. They're necessary for us to function in this world, to actually thrive instead of just surviving. We look at the world and think of how we think it should be instead of how it is. We imagine how we would change things given unlimited power, what we'd remake reality into. And while they often have nothing to do with reality, this kind of imagining is not only not harmful, but actually helpful if done right.

However, one needs to take that ideal into the real world. And while the actual end-state of the ideal may be impossible, and certainly should remain up for revision, one should use that ideal to try and do what one can to bring reality closer to that ideal. Throwing up one's hands and choosing to do nothing because the difference is too great is not an answer, it's an abrogation of responsibility. If the ideal is not only impossible, but also has no relation to reality, then there's a problem of ideology.

Reality changes in steps. We take our ideal and hold it up against the choices we have available, and we take the best option. With some choices, like a choice of mate, we choose that none of our options are close enough to our ideal, and we choose to take nothing. And that's good, because while reality never holds up to fantasy, we must also accept that going with what is available is sometimes a worse choice than staying with the status quo.

We have the power to change reality around us. Not merely in the simple things, like mate and job, but in the big picture. We change reality by voting, by being activist, by writing letters and speaking out. (Note: I do not speak here of being activist in any particular direction. While I have my own ideals, I also believe we all must question our own inner being to find what those ideals are). When we do nothing, when we sit silent and let things go in ways we do not like around us, that is also a choice. It is saying that reality as it is is close enough to our ideals that we're going to leave well enough alone. If that is not what we want to say, then we have to act. And while we cannot change everything everywhere, all change began in the mind of one person that looked at a problem and said "I think I can make this better."

Questions:
Where does reality seem lacking to you? What would you change? What can you make better?
Where have you compromised on your ideals? Was it worth it?
Where have you stopped thinking in terms of ideals and just given up? What questions are you most afraid of asking and why?
Personal thoughts

Monday, December 12, 2005

Nurturing our Flames

Bright flame and dark. These are powerful metaphors for our life. When they are fed, our lives are filled with warmth and many good things. When they're ignored, they gutter and stifle and leave us cold.

We feed these flames differently, for we are all different people. However, there are some similarities in what we do to nurture our flames.

The most important thing to remember is that the bright flame burns outward, and the dark flame inwards. We need the dark flame to give us the fuel to burn the bright flame without sacrificing ourselves. However, we also need to be certain that we do not focus exclusively on our inward selves, ignoring the rest of the world to sink into comfortable egotism.

When we want to nurture our dark flame, we must nurture ourselves. Some of this is simple self-care: exercise, eating well, the occasional treat because we like them. However, it also involves things like meditation, automatic writing, prayer, or simply being alone with our thoughts. We need time to think, time to understand ourselves, time to compare our actions against what we claim are our beliefs. It's of integral importance for us to take that time, to give ourselves a chance to pause in stillness and examine ourselves.

When we want to nurture our bright flame, we need to nurture others. This is the flame that expands to those around us, that is seen in our relationships and our work. We need this to get through our day, to keep good relations at our jobs, with our families, with the greater community. We do this by thinking of the other person and what they need and want. And we do this intelligently: there is no virtue in giving of oneself to someone that is using you to keep from growing themselves. But there is also no virtue in refusing to help because it offers nothing to us or we can't be bothered. We must give when we can, when it makes the world better.

We are all of the Divine, and we need to nurture our Divine Spark of flame. And we need to give each other space to nurture their own sparks as well.

Questions:
Which flame would you say you nurture more? how?
How would you nurture the other flame?
Do you think balancing these flames is important? How do you see them interrelating?
Personal thoughts

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

The Joy of Ignorance and Insignificance

We are each the center of our own Universe. But there are thousands of overlapping universes, one for each person. And while we are the center of our own, we are of much less importance in every other one.

It's a matter of perspective. We see ourselves as wise, smarter and more attractive than average, better in so many ways than the people around us. And they see themselves the same way. Everything here is a matter of perspective.

When we see ourselves from the perspective of the Universe itself, we are small and insignificant. It's impossible to see all the people, all the world that exists and not see ourselves as small. There is more we do not know than we do know. There is more that is not us than is us. We can never know everything or be everything, no matter what we want.

And that's one very true perspective. But it's equally true that when our minds reach out and touch the Universe, we find ourselves loved and cherished for our uniqueness. We may be one of many, but that does not change that we are also one individual, and special and cherished for that.

I am Individual, One of Many, and Part of the Divine Whole. These are not mutually exclusive pieces, they are in fact reliant upon each other. When we find the balance point between these realities, we become more able to deal with each other and reality as whole adults, and give the Universe in all its aspects the respect they deserve.

Questions:
How are you individual? one of many? part of the Divine? How does it vary?
Do you love yourself for who you are? Do you love others for being part of the Divine? (even if you don't like them?)
How do you balance being special and individual, and being insignificant compared to the greater reality? Which of these two truths is more difficult to deal with?
Personal thoughts